Patrol

NYPD to Let Officers Handcuff Suspects in Front

The NYPD will soon allow officers to handcuff criminal suspects with their hands in front instead of behind their backs as part of the use-of-force overhaul — a change one police source called “total lunacy.”

“They want to say they’re a kinder, gentler police force by coming up with a new policy on front-cuffing. But it invites danger,” the source said.

NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis told The New York Post that the change — which will go into effect Jan. 1 — was part of the revision of the Patrol Guide regarding use of force.

He said suspects with “medical or physical hardships” would be candidates for front cuffing, but it would be the arresting officer’s decision.

“If someone’s in good enough shape to fight, that’s a person who wouldn’t be a candidate for front-cuffing,” he said.

Scanner audio captured an officer’s account of what happened at the scene, CWBChicago reports: “Ten people surrounded me, indicating that they had firearms. And one person pulled him away from me, holding his waist, indicating that he would use a firearm against me.”

There were so many police officers, sheriff’s deputies and Highway Patrol troopers that the court appearance had to be moved out of Justice Court to Judge John Larson’s Courtroom Number Three on the third floor of the Missoula County Courthouse.

The vehicle pursuit ended in the town of Kittitas where Deputy Thompson was backed up by Officer Benito Chavez. The suspect exited the vehicle and exchanged shots with the two law enforcement officers.